Bomba je u starom vozilu.

to be

Breakdown of Bomba je u starom vozilu.

• u: in
• star: old
• bomba: a bomb

Questions & Answers about Bomba je u starom vozilu.

Why is je used in this sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular form of the verb biti (to be).

So:

• bomba = subject
• je = is
• u starom vozilu = prepositional phrase

Croatian usually needs the verb to be in this kind of present-tense sentence, just like English does:

• Bomba je u starom vozilu. = The bomb is in the old vehicle.

You generally cannot leave je out here.

Why is it u starom vozilu and not just u staro vozilo?

Because the preposition u changes meaning depending on the case that follows it.

Here it expresses location (in, inside), so it takes the locative case:

• u starom vozilu = in the old vehicle

If it expressed movement into something, Croatian would normally use the accusative instead:

• u staro vozilo = into the old vehicle

So the form tells you whether the phrase is about being somewhere or moving somewhere.

What case is vozilu?